34 Free or Cheap Marketing Resources for Ecommerce Business Owners

Looking for a way to make life easier, save time, and still maximize your marketing spend?

In this article, I’ll walk you through the best tools available for businesses of all sizes.

The best part is that most of them are free, and those that aren’t free are cheap.

Even if you are planning to hire a marketing team, as an ecommerce business owner, you should know what they’re doing, as well as the how, and why.

You like knowing where your money is going, right? The marketing resources for ecommerce business owners listed in this post help you perform some core marketing tasks without fuss, and without spending a fortune.

First, we’ll tackle some of the top blogs to watch, and some of the best (free) apps available. Then we’ll explore marketing training materials, webinars, and courses. After that, we’re heading deep into SEO/SEM, but I promise it won’t be a firehose of info – just the tools you need to get the job done without making a career of it.

Blogs to Read

Good reading material is the first place you should start when looking for free marketing resources for ecommerce business owners. I loathe buying most marketing books – by the time they’re published, many of them are already outdated.

There are a few notable exceptions, but in general, I advocate that all ecommerce business owners read blogs by industry experts to familiarize themselves with the jargon used in the field, the techniques that work (and those that don’t, or could even result in penalties by the Google gods), and identify influencers who can help their business to excel.

Ready for no-nonsense marketing advice? Marketing Sherpa has been in business for a while and writes on topics as diverse as giving public presentations and maintaining a consistent ecommerce brand image globally.

Published at irregular intervals, but with strikingly detailed, actionable content, this is one of my favorite blogs on the web. Although Darren only has a handful of published entries to date, each one is packed with informative images and can make a huge impact on your bottom line – if you pay attention.

Apps and Tools that Make Life Easier

For the first few weeks, months, or even years of your business’s existence, you’re probably going to handle quite a few marketing tasks yourself. Even when you hire a pro, it’s a good idea to keep these tools and apps in use.

From tracking the competition to giving you a chance to advertise for free, produce infographics on the cheap, and know what users think of the site, they’re a great way to stay ahead of the game – even when your budget is tight.

Use these services to schedule your social media posts well in advance. Klout offers perks to users, including free business cards from MOO, air travel benefits, you name it – the more Klout you have, the better the perks you get. Buffer gives great content suggestions, and easy to use analytics. HootSuite is another favorite among marketers.

See how your content is performing, identify top influencers on specific topics, share posts, and set alerts for content by your competitors, along with a host of other incredible features. This is, officially, my favorite app on the web.

Need an infographic, but can’t afford a designer? Canva is here to help. Quickly and easily create the graphics you need for blogs, social media, and a host of other items, including presentations, business cards, and even book covers for free or pay a small fee for the full version.

Even if you plan on outsourcing everything, you need to know what works and what doesn’t in marketing. Many small and medium ecommerce business owners end up taking on at least a few digital marketing tasks, and knowing how to produce content is never a bad thing. Being able to share a personal message with your audience in a way that hits home is a skill all ecommerce business owners should possess – even if you need an editor to clean it up before you publish.

The following courses, training materials, and webinars are marketing resources for ecommerce business owners that will help you get a decent idea of what needs to be done, how, by who, and why.

Operated by a former Fortune 500 marketer, this series of 30 minute webinars is free, informative, and features some of the best voices in marketing, advertising, and public relations. You’ve got to subscribe to receive it, and I strongly advise that you do so.

This website is heaven for content marketers, but a great resource for ecommerce business owners, too. If you can’t afford a full in-house marketing team, you can still build a solid strategy and put it to work using the info you find here.

Free, but offered only periodically, this course will help you maximize your use of the oodles of data provided by Google Analytics. Don’t miss it. Occasionally, a few other course are also offered. Since the Google gods are behind these, you can be the tips will help you stay on Google’s good side, too.

A legend unto himself, Rand Fishkin is arguably the most recognized and respected figure in digital marketing today. His Whiteboard Fridays are free, information packed, and a must-see for marketers and business owners alike.

The success of Perry Marshall’s 80/20 Marketing is undeniable, and his use of AdWords is partially responsible. He knows how to get the most bang for your buck using these PPC ad campaigns, and details every step clearly for ecommerce business owners.

Like it or not, the instant you open an ecommerce business, you become an entrepreneur. Yaro Starak’s course, delivered by email and completely free, is a great place to start your journey towards profitability.

Another great option for new business owners is Chris Drucker’s boot camp. This 7-day course has been featured in Inc., Entrepreneur, and numerous other sources – because it’s THAT good. Free and delivered via email, it’s also very convenient.

SEO/SEM Research Tools

Every ecommerce business owner should be at least slightly familiar with SEO and the constant changes taking place in its function and role in digital marketing. Far from being made useless, SEO is adapting to Google and other search engines’ algorithms and continues to make a significant impact on your page’s search rank position.

In the list that follows, you’ll find some basic tools that make life as a non-SEO expert ecommerce business owner much easier. From helping you identify the keywords you need to checking your current SEO practices and providing a list of actionable steps you can take to improve your search ranking, you’ll find everything you need to get your search optimization strategy rolling productively.

Suggests hundreds of keywords based on a simple search term. Only problem? Most are two words in length, and longtail (3 words or more) tends to perform better. Still a great place to get started, though.

The gold standard in SEO/SEM marketing, this service helps you track competitors as well as your own performance, and to identify key areas for improvement. Not to mention keyword research, advertising research, organic research…you get the picture.

So there you have it. Let me know what you think and which of these tools you like best. And if you found this post even remotely useful, do share it like mad.

I’m a fan of honest words, clarity, and impact. A copywriter, editor, and translator, I spend my days guzzling coffee like a champ. Once in a while, I do some writing and revising, too. I’m co-owner and copywriting head at Rusmexus Writers, and the brains behind the email and web copy at a handful of eCommerce brands. Intellectual challenges and chocolate are my fuel. If you know what a seismometer does, care about healthy diets and lifestyle, or are a fan of travel, we should talk.